84 



Food for ig Qf little use in the beds. Use from 400 to 800 pounds 

 of phosphate, apphed broadcast immediately after harvest; 

 in the spring, as soon as the strawberry leaves show the 

 bright, fresh green of new growth, and apply broadcast 

 200 pounds of Nitrate of Soda to the acre. 



Soiling Crops. 



"Soiling" is rapidly becoming recognized as the most 

 economical method of stock' feeding; practically, soiling 

 means keeping stock confined, and using green-cut food. 

 It is now known to be much more economical than pastur- 

 ing, not only that more stock can be kept per acre, but the 

 feeding results are more profitable. The crops chiefly used 

 are vetches, the clovers, rye, buckwheat, spurry, fodder 

 corn, stock beets, cow peas, etc. A succession of crops- 

 should be grown, the earliest in most sections being crimson 

 clover, sown the previous summer, and followed by red 

 clover, corn, etc., and ending with cow peas and the vetches. 

 The Silo is used to store green food for the winter months, 

 fodder corn being most commonly used in the Silo. 



A rank growth of forage is required, and the maturity 

 of the crop is not a consideration. The soil should be 

 made very fertile and fertilizers used with a free hand. 

 Farmers can easily test the value of heavy fertilizer appli- 

 cations in soiling, by comparing different parts of the same 

 field, difi^erently fertilized. Apply per acre, just before, or 

 even with the seed, from 400 to 800 pounds of phosphate, 

 and as soon as the plants are well up, top-dress with Nitrate 

 of Soda, using from 300 to 600 pounds per acre, and experi- 

 ence will more often approve the 600 pound application 

 than the 300. Top-dress in quite the same manner for 

 second crops. It is a quick, rank growth of green substance 

 that is wanted, and for this purpose no other form of ammo- 

 nia is as quick acting as Nitrated ammoniate, or Nitrate of 

 Soda. 



Small Fruits. 



Under this head we treat of blackberries, currants, 

 gooseberries and raspberries. Strawberries have been 

 treated separately in another part of this book. All these 

 small fruits are commonly grown in the garden, generally 



